Low
Brian Rhode (born January 14, 1977) is a retired Canadian professional wrestler best known as his ring name Low. He is an 11 time World Heavyweight Champion. History Early Low was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. He trained at one of the famous Hart Brothers wrestling camps and went on to briefly wrestle on the Canadian independent circuit before entering the AWA. His climb to the top started a bit slow, but took off after just a few months. AWA Upon entering the AWA he formed a stable with The Diamond Dogs under the guidance of The Thin White Duke, but then the most influential person of his professional life appeared: Ramona A. Stone. Low, Ramona and the Dogs got rid of the Duke and joined the NHL, but the group quickly kicked the Dogs out. Low and Ramona then became part of some great rivalries, including rivalries with The Diamond Dogs, Heavy Metal, Atlas Johansson, The Ladies' Man, Anton Chekov, Mortis Valley, Johnny Justice, The Family, Black Dragon, Drake Hyde, Jack Happy, Ray Owens, Dave Santini and Steven Caldera. Some of those rivalries were career ending for Low's opponents. Known for his brutality, Low still has a great deal of respect for wrestling and is proud of winning the AWA Cruiserweight, TV, Hardcore, Tag Team, US and World titles, although the Hardcore title never meant much to him. He was also instrumental in finishing The Family once and for all, and was responsible for running the legendary Black Dragon out of the AWA for 6 months and keeping him from wrestling actively for one entire year following his betrayal of Dragon at King Of The Kage 2001. His first big triumph came on August 30, 2001, when he won a Triple Threat Match against Jack Happy and Drake Hyde to win the AWA World title, becoming the AWA's first-ever Grand Slam Champion. He went on to defend the World title against the likes of Ray Owens, Jason Dread, Jack Happy and Steven Caldera before losing it to Caldera after producing the longest title reign in AWA history. After a frustrating few months in which he could not regain the gold, Low regained the title from Caldera in February 2002. But just as his title reign started, Low's contract went up and he left the AWA as its World Champion, vacating the title in the process. The day he left he wrestled a match with his old nemesis Black Dragon and was inducted into the Hall Of Fame. After a short, memorable, yet not too successful stint in GCW, where he won the Hardcore title, Low returned to the AWA in June 2002 to revive the NHL together with Drake Hyde. After ending his year-long rivalries with Jack Happy and Mortis Valley in memorable matches he and Hyde had yet another falling out. Disappointed in his friend and his own inability to regain the AWA World title, Low quit the AWA in the fall of 2002. He returned once again after a 7 month hiatus from professional wrestling. After taking on some of the newer stars of the AWA and beating them, Low targeted LJ Vacamas. In the end, Low defeated Vacamas to win the US title for a second time. But he wanted more and after turning on the crowd, Low targeted World Champion Mortis Valley. After two of the toughest matches of his career against Mortis, Low no longer had the US title, but instead won the World title for the third time. He went on to defend it against a variety of opponents including Snakebite, John Williams, Jeff Christianson, Adam Bawm, Zeal and Brian Williams. After breaking his own record and becoming the 2-time longest-reigning AWA World Champion at that time, Low lost the title in a brutal match at Last Man Standing 2003 to Zeal. Shortly thereafter Low questioned his own desire and motivation and disappeared yet again. He returned after a few weeks and, under the guise of The Voyeur, won his second AWA Cruiserweight title from The Fish. After playing a few more games with The Fish, Low once again set his sights on the AWA World title, targeting Brian Williams. After a series of controversial matches between the two, as well as creative differences between AWA officials, the AWA split into two brands, AWA Shock and AWA Xplosion. Low, however, ended up being a 4-time AWA World Champion. Giving the Xplosion version of the World title immediate credibility, Low successfully defended the title against a variety of opponents. However, after months of trying, The Fish finally avenged the humiliation at the hands of The Voyeur and won the World title from Low. After just a few weeks, though, Low regained the title, becoming a record-setting 5-time AWA World Champion. He lost the title to C-Rock and Low and the AWA could not come to contractual terms once again. Low left the AWA in frustration, a guest appearance at Classic 2004 falling through. Low returned in late-2004, defeating King Chozen in an excellent match at Wrestlefest VI. The following month featured one of his career highlights - going bell to bell in the Hell Bowl Chamber, cleanly defeating Brian Williams to win his 6th AWA World title. But triumph and tragedy can be so close to another, and just the following day, Low suffered the greatest tragedy... the loss of his longtime best friend and manager, Ramona A. Stone, to a drug-induced suicide. But Low had one of his best years professionally in 2005, as he won World title number 7, beating Brian Williams in a memorable Hell In A Cell Match to end their feud. Successfully defending the title against all comers once again, Low became the victim of some lame duck Champions and a returning Travis Gray, as he was stripped of his title on Fatal Friday. Low seemed to lose his competitive edge during that summer, but by Classic, he was back in the saddle, defeating Whisper in the main event of one of the greatest shows in AWA history to win the World title for the eighth time. For the first time in years, Low was cheered by the fans as he fought against the likes of Whisper, Damage Inc. and others. Then came the shock - the AWA was going to be closed down by Keiko Ono, a bitter Tokyo woman who claimed her father's bankruptcy and suicide were the result of the AWA holding Classic 2002 in Tokyo. Whisper bought a part of the AWA as well, but Low managed to prevent the AWA's end by first buying 49% of it, then winning Whisper's 49% at Wrestlefest VII, before buying the final 2% from Ono. In a not-so-shocking turn for anybody who is able and willing to read in The Book Of Low, Low turned his back on the fans and showed his egomaniacal side again. As the sole owner of the AWA, the most powerful man in AWA history, Low provided us with plenty of controversy. Lars Fredrickson and Brian Stevens joined Low and they formed The Administration. Low began targeting his former friends The Paramedics, mainly for Jonathon Lightning's role in Ramona's demise. Forming The Excellent Master Tacticians with Lars (The EMTs), he defeated The Medics at Hell On Earth. The EMTs also won the Tag Team title from The Canucks, before finally ending the careers of The Paramedics. But by Springs And Breaks 2006, people were opposing Low, and Team Gray defeated The Administration in War Games, forcing Low to sell the company back to Travis Gray. In the aftermath, Low turned on Lars and the two had some heated confrontations. Lars actions at Ramona's graveside brought Ramona's sister Deborah into play. At No More Drama, Low and Lars battled in a brutal Barbed Wire Match that ended without a winner. After taking several weeks off, Low is now back, and he literally crowned his comeback by winning the King Of The Kage tournament for an unprecedented second time, defeating Logan Alexander, Nathan Hawthorne-Lee and Brian Stevens all in one night. Low then went on to defeat his nemesis Brian Williams at Classic 2006, not only winning his 10th World title, but also making Williams tap out to the Low Standard, effectively ending his AWA career. At Overpower, Low finally had to take on Orlando Ortega. They faced off in a title vs. title match, and while Low just won barely, he did win and added the No Limits title to his collection of trophies. One month later, Low won the AWA Intercontinental title from Brian Stevens, proving himself to be the Last Asshole Standing and becoming the first-ever Ultimate Champion. Low faked his death in November 2006 in probably the most controversial instance in AWA history, but after that and after losing the NL title to Jayson Price and being stripped of the IC title, his career seemed to take a turn for the worse. Low aligned with his new protege Logan Alexander, and also reconciled with his estranged mother Beverly, but he came up short in his quest to psyche out US Champion Nathan Hawthorne-Lee. In a Low Rules Match at Wrestlefest VIII, Low was forced to tap out, losing his 10th World title and coming two months short of his original goal of breaking the longevity record. Broken, frustrated and disillusioned, Low announced the end of his career four days later. BUT NOT SO FAST... Low kept supporting his apprentice, Logan Alexander, through two pay-per-view World title shots, including being the special referee for the Spring Break Chamber. Low also rekindled his rivalry with Snake. On April 15, Low made his in-ring return by easily defeating AWA newcomer Trendkill. Shortly thereafter, Low surprised the wrestling world by joining up with his two former bitter rivals Brian Stevens and Nathaniel Henry Lee of Damage, Inc. At No More Drama he showed that he had not lost a step, beating Snake in a Steel Cage Match after some surprising aerial offense. As the defending King Of The Kage, Low qualified for the 2007 tournament by defeating co-Cruiserweight Champion Jason Storm on the same night that DI went on a rampage and made a statement by attacking the majority of the AWA roster, including putting Jon Taylor out of commission. The following week, Low and NHL teamed up to beat The Faction for the AWA Tag Team title, marking Low's 4th reign as a Tag Team Champion. This latest comeback was capped off by another successful King Of The Kage tournament, in which Low defeated Snake, John Williams and Logan Alexander all in one night to extend his record and become a 3-time King. The following week, Low defeated A.C. Smith to win his third US title. Low fought his former protege Logan Alexander over the summer, trading wins at Classic and Overpower. By beating Logan at Classic, Low regained the right to his match - the Low Rules Match. He won the AWA World title for the 11th time at Wrestlefest IX, beating Brian Stevens and Evan Heir after screwing his DI friend Stevens out of the title. He turned on him afterwards and then managed to find a way to get Stevens fired from the AWA in January 2008. After vacating the title due to an injury suffered in a match with Heir, Low aligned with his longtime rival President Gray, who made him YOUR AWA commissioner, XWCWF, UWA and Retirement After the closure of the AWA, Low remerged once again in two federations, the XWCWF and the UWA. In the XWCWF Low quickly gained prominence winning the company's Commonwealth Title and World Title. In the UWA, he was named the #1 seed in the UWA Champion's Cup tournament and was highly favored to win the tournament. He went undefeated in the UWA until the finals match against Brian Stevens. After losing to Stevens in the finals at UWA 4 a rematch was scheduled for UWA 5. In the highly anticipated rematch, Low had added the stipulation that if he did not beat Brian Stevens in a Low Rules match, he would retire. On September 27, 2009, Low tapped out to a submission hold in the final round of the Low Rules match. When asked if this was really the end for Low, he was quoted saying "Who knows?"